Wrapping machines



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1952 INVENTOR MLL/AMHOPPE ATTORNEYS May 8, 1956 w. HOPPE 2,744,371

WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 29, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS INVENTOR MLL/AMHOPPE BY +7/ed.

May 8, 1956 w. HOPPE 2,744,371

WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Jan. 29, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR W/u/AM/ aPPe BY LZQ/ A. #4

ATTORNEYZS United States Patent WRAPPING MACHINES William Hoppe, Longmeadow, Mass, assignor to Package Machinery Company, a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 29, 1952,, Serial No. 268,787

3 Claims. (Cl. 53-430) This invention relates toan improvement in wrapping machines and more particularly to means for applying adhesive tothe severed end of a wrapper cut from a web of wrapping material inthe end portion of which an article has been partially wrapped.

In one; class of wrapping machines the end portion of a web of wrapping material is wound around the article to at least partially encircle the article, after which the end portion is severed from the web to provide sufiicient length to complete the encirclement with an overlap.

In one type of wrapping machine of this class an article delivery platform and a folding channel are provided, spaced one above the other and a pivoted or reciprocating transfer device or conveyor is provided which is movable; from a position of substantial alignment with the platform to a position of alignment with the folding channel. In this type of machine the article engages the end portion of a wrapper web as the article is moved from the platform onto the transfer device and in the course of such movement and the subsequent movement of the transfer device into alignment with the folding channel the complete or partial encirclement of the article. by the end-portion of the web is accomplished. The web is then severed before or as the. so-partially wrapped article is moved from the transfer device intothe folding channel where the. wrappingv operation is completed.

Machines of this type have been largely used for wrapping: bread and the wrapper folds have been scaled by various arrangements of heat sealers.

It has. been found that machines of this type are well adapted for wrapping other articles thanbread and for socalled bundle wrapping in which an assembly of relatively small packages are wrapped as aunit; In these latter useskraft orfsimilar paper is used for the wrapper re quiring application of an adhesive to the portions ofthe wrapper which. are to be adhered together. I

Various forms of gluing devices are known but as far as. is known, the devices heretofore proposed interfere with the usual timing of the wrapping operations or require substantial changes in the wrappingor web handling devices. This has been particularlytrue. with respect to the adhesive sealing of the overlap where thewrapper encirclesthe article. v

The principal object of this invention is to provide means for applying adhesive, or solvents, to theweb or wrapper in machines of the class above mentioned which means will require no change in the timing of the wrap ping operations or any substantial change in the construction or operation of the wrapping instrumentalities. Stated in another way it is an object of the invention to so arrange adhesive applying instrumentalities in relation to existing elements of the machine that the latter'cooperate'to effect the application of the adhesive with little or no substantial change in'their own structure and with out impairment of their existing functions;

Other and further obects residing in the details of structure and arrangement will be made apparent in the fol- Patented May 8, 1956 lowing specification and claims and in the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a wrapping machineembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, parts being broken away, of the article transfer device; I

Fig. 3 is a view of the transfer device looking from the left of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing. the parts in adifferent position;- i

Fig. 5 is a sectional view substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the glue roll one-way driving clutch; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a partially wrapped article. Y

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, an article delivery platform is generally indicated at 1, a wrapper folding channel, spaced above the article delivery platform is generally indicated at 2 and a transfer mechanism for moving the articles from the level of the delivery platform to that of the wrapping channel is generally indicated at 3;. As shown, the articles, which may each comprise a bundle of articles as shown at A, made up of a plurality of small packages a, are delivered along the platform 1 by a series of. pushers, one of which is shown at 4, carried by' a conveyor chain 5 which is intermittently driven by means not shown. The. article A is halted in position to be engaged by a reciprocating pusher 6 which moves the article from the platform 1 onto the floor 7 of the transfer device 3 as shownin full lines in Fig. l. The pusher 6 is mounted on guide rods 8 and is reciprocated by a lever 9 by means ofa cam not shown. 1

- A clamping plate 10 is fixed to a slide 11 mounted for sliding movement over the floor 7 of the transfer device. When the pusher 6 is in retracted position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. the clamping plate 10 is positioned adjacent the free edge of floor 7 as also shown in dotted lines in Fig. l.

With the parts in dotted line position, advance of pusher 6 brings the leading face of the article against the free end portion of a Web of wrapping material w, which. has been fed between the article on platform and the adacent edge of floor 7 of the transfer means. Further advance of the pusher 6 carries the article and web against the plate 10 so that the'web is clamped between the leading face of the article and plate 10. Further advance of the pusher moves the article and end portion of the web onto the floor of .the transfer device, the wrapper web being held to thea'r'ticle by the frictional resistance of the. slide 11'. As the articlemoves onto floor 7 the portion below. the clamping plate 10 is laid along the bottom of the article forming the underfold 1, while the portion of the web above the plate engages a roll 12 to draw wrapping material from a supplyroll, not shown, and lay it over the top of the article as shown in full lines in Fig. 1.

The transfer device, which as shown takes the form of a vertically reciprocable elevator, is then moved upwardly by means of a lever 14- and link 15- carrying the elevator to the dotted line position of Fig. 1, and drawing the web over theface of the article adacent the entrance of the folding'channel 2 with which the article is now aligned. As shown, the transfer device is provided with spaced end folders 16 which make the end folds g (Fig. 7) and stationary top folders 17 (Fig. l) secured to side frame members 18 of the folding channel make the top folds h (Fig. 7) as the transfer means brings the article into alignment with the folding channel. Asthe transfer means moves upwardly roll 12, which is carried at the ends of hell cranks 19, are moved downwardly to draw out additional wrapping material as shown in Fig. 4. As the roll 12 is moving downward the article is being moved from the elevator floor 7 into the wrapping channel. As the roll 12 reaches the limit of its downward movement a knife blade is actuated to shear, in cooperation with fixed blade 21, the end portion of the wrapper Web, which now encircles the article, from the body of the web permitting the free end of the web to fall into position to receive the next article from platform 1. Substantially simultaneously the article is being advanced into the wrapping channel by pushers 22 and the transfer means commences its downward movement for alignment with platform 1.

The so far described wrapping operations are typical of the class of wrapping machines in which the present invention has a special utility. As will be apparent the several mechanisms, whatever specific forms they may take, are closely timed in order to secure a smooth rapid operation and that the article may be and preferably is in substantially constant movement from the time it leaves the platform 1 until it is discharged from the wrapping channel 2.

As best shown in Fig. 4 the parts are so arranged that the trailing portion 1' of the wrapper is of a length to overlap the underfold When a heat sealable wrapper is used the overlapping portions 1 and i are sealed together by heating elements, placed in the floor of the wrapping channel, such as is indicated at 24.

If a non heat scalable material, such as kraft paper, is used for wrapping, means are necessary to apply adhesive to the portions of the wrapper which are to be secured together to hold it in place and secure a sealed wrap.

In accordance with the present invention this is accomplished by the structure now to be described.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 a glue reservoir is secured in any suitable manner to the underside of the floor 7 of the transfer means 3. A glue roll 31 is rotatably mounted in bearings 32 carried by the end walls of the reservoir 30. Glue, or other suitable adhesive, is supplied to roll 31 by a feed roll 33, rotatable in bearings 34 formed in the end walls of the reservoir, and partially immersed in the body of adhesive B in the reservoir. Doctor blades 36 and carried by the reservoir respectively engage rolls 31 and 33 to remove excess adhesive therefrom.

As is best shown in Fig. 2, the rolls 31 and 33 extend across substantially the full length of the transfer mechanism to accommodate varying lengths of articles. One end of the shaft 37 of roll 31 carries a gear 38 which meshes with a gear 40 carried by the adjacent end of shaft 41 of roll 33. Gear 40 meshes with a gear 42 rotatably mounted on a bushing 43 (Fig. 6) surrounding a shaft 44 journaled intermediate its ends in a bracket 45 and at one end in the end Wall of the reservoir. The gear 42 is formed with a hub 46 (Fig. 6) carrying a ratchet 47 which is engaged by a pawl 48 pivoted at 49 to one half 50 of a split collar, the other half being shown at 51. The halves 50 and 51 engage opposite sides of shaft 44 and the collar is clamped to the shaft 44 by bolts 52 extending through the halves of the collars. Compression springs 53 surround the bolts between the heads of the bolts and the adjacent collar member 50 and provide an adjustable yielding clamping engagement of the collar with the shaft. Pawl 48 is held in operative engagement with ratchet 47 by a spring 54.

The outer end of shaft 44 carries a pinion 55 which meshes with a fixed rack 56 to cause rotation of pinion 55 and shaft 44 as the pinion travels up and down with the transfer device. The direction of the pawl and ratchet is such that gear 42 and consequently rolls 33 and 31 are driven in the direction of the arrows in Fig. l as the transfer device moves upwardly and idles on the return stroke. The spring clamping engagement of the collar 50-51 with shaft 44 serves as an overload release.

Referring to Fig. 4, as the article is advanced from the transfer means 3 into the folding channel 2 the wrapper web is drawn relatively taut between the roll 12 and a roll or rod 57 positioned at the entrance to the folding channel. The movable knife 20 which is carried by pivoted arms 58 is moved forward by links 60 connected to levers 61 fixed to a rockshaft 62 which is actuated by a cam or other suitable means not shown. In order to maintain proper tension on the web during the cutting operation, means are preferably provided to apply additional restraint to withdrawal of additional material from the web supply. As shown, this comprises a frictional brake member 63 carried by an arm 64 of a bell crank pivoted to a cross rod 65. The other arm 66 of the bell crank carries an adjustable lug 67 adapted to be engagecl by a lug 68, formed on the end of an arm 69 extending from lever 61. Engagement of lug 67 by lug 68 raises brake member 63 out of contact with the web when lever 61 swings clockwise in Fig. 4 to retract the knife, as shown in Fig. 1. As lever 61 swings counterclockwise to actuate the knife, lug 68 leaves lug 67 just prior to the cutting of the web permitting brake member 63 to rest under the tension of spring 70 on the web as the latter passes over table 71, applying the desired restraint to the web as the latter is severed.

The stationary knife blade 21 is carried by the wall of the adhesive reservoir adjacent the web and its cuttting edge is spaced from the surface of roll 31. The stroke of knife 20 is sufficient to carry the severed end portion i of the wrapper beyond knife 21 and into contact with the adhesive carrying surface of roll 12 to apply a band of adhesive m along the cut edge of the wrapper. As the article advances into the folding channel the end portion i of the wrapper is laid in overlapping relation with portion 1 to which it is sealed by the adhesive thus applied to portion 1'.

Heater 24, previously mentioned, serves to iron the wrapper smooth and maintains the glue relatively soft to assure its proper penetration in the paper and assure proper pliability of the glued plies as the end folds are subsequently made.

When the article leaves the transfer device the rear end folds g have been made by the folders 16 and the top folds h have been made by folders 17. As the article enters the folding channel the portions of the wrapper extending outwardly of the ends of the leading face of the article are engaged by stationary folders and are laid against the ends of the article as indicated at k completing the wrapping except for the bottom end fold L, as shown in Fig. 7.

Preferably and as shown, folders 17 are provided with heaters 76 and folders 75 are provided with heaters 77 which iron the folds and advantageously condition the wrapper folds for the final adhesive seal as later described. As the article continues its advance the upper surface of the bottom wrapper extensions L are engaged by adhesive applying rolls 78 which receive adhesive from reservoirs 79. The rolls 78 as shown are mounted on shafts 80 journaled on brackets 81 extending from the bottom of the reservoirs 79 and the outer ends of shafts 80 are provided with sprockets 82 driven by chains 83 from any suitable source of power.

Rolls 78 apply a band of adhesive n across the wrapper extensions L, as shown in Fig. 7, after which the flaps are immediately engaged by stationary folders 84 which fold the extensions up and against the ends of the article to complete the wrapping.

While the adhesive is being applied the top folds h are being hold in place by the heated folders 75 and the bottom extensions L are over the floor heaters 24 so that the adhesive in the longitudinal seal m is kept plaible enough to permit the slight adjustment of the wrapper plies which take place as the forward end and top folds are made, and the heated condition of the folds g, h and k facilitate the adhesion of the bottom fold L thereto. Paper such as kraft has a tendency to wrinkle and the heating of the folders have the additional advantage that the folds are ironed smooth with a minimum of wrinkles commonly characteristic of kraft wrapped articles. To secure the maximum smoothness additional ironing plates 85, provided with heaters 86 may be positioned in the folding channel. If found desirable, the wrapped article may be passed through cooling plates 87 after leaving heated plates 85.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wrapping machine of the type having means for at least partially encircling an article with the end portion of a web of wrapping material and including a transfer means movable from an article receiving position to a position of alignment with a folding channel; a knife, means to move said knife against the outer face of the Web to sever the web along a line spaced from the so-encircled article when the transfer means is in said second-mentioned position, a reservoir for adhesive, an adhesive applying roll and an adhesive supply roll to supply adhesive from the reservoir to said applying roll, said reservoir, adhesive supply roll and adhesive applying rolls being mounted as a unit on said transfer means for movement therewith to position said applying roll, when the transfer means is in said second-named position, on the opposite side of the web from the knife and spaced therefrom, the stroke of the knife being sufircient to carry the severed end portion of the wrapper into contact with said applying roll and means, powered by the movement of the transfer member, to drive said rolls upon movement of the transfer member from said first to said second position.

2. In a wrapping machine of the type having means for at least partially encircling an article with the end portion of a web of wrapping material and including a transfer means movable from an article receiving position to a position of alignment with a folding channel; a knife, means to move said knife against the outer face of the web to sever the web along a line spaced from the so-encircled article when the transfer means is in said second-mentioned position, a reservoir for adhesive, an adhesive applying roll and an adhesive supply roll to supply adhesive from the reservoir to said applying roll, said reservoir, adhesive supply roll and adhesive applying rolls being mounted as a unit on said transfer means for movement therewith to position said applying roll, when the transfer means is in said second-named position, on the opposite side of the web from the knife and spaced therefrom,

the stroke of the knife being suflicient to carry the severed end portion of the wrapper into contact with said applying roll and means to drive said rolls upon movement of the transfer member from said first to said second position, said last-named means comprising a fixed rack, a pinion carried by said unit and engaging said rack in the movement of the transfer member from said first to said second position, and gears driving said rolls from said pinion.

3. In a wrapping machine of the type having means for at least partially encircling an article with the end portion of a web of wrapping material and including a transfer means movable from an article receiving position to a' position of alignment with a folding channel; a knife, means to move said knife against the outer face of the web to sever the web along a line spaced from the soencircled articlewhen the transfer means is in said secondmentioned position, a reservoir for adhesive, an adhesive applying roll and an adhesive supply roll to supply adhesive from the reservoir to said applying roll, said reservoir, adhesive supply roll and adhesive applying rolls being mounted as a unit on said transfer means for movement therewith to position said applying roll, when the transfer means is in said second-named position, on the opposite side of the web from the knife and spaced therefrom, the stroke of the knife being sufficient to carry the severed end portion of the wrapper into contact with said applying roll and means to drive said rolls upon movement of the transfer member from said first to said second position, said last-named means comprising, a fixed rack, a shaft carried by said unit and engaging said rack in the movement of the transfer member between said first and second position, a gear rotatably mounted on said shaft, a ratchet fixed to said gear, a pawl connected to said shaft by an overload release and engaging said ratchet to drive said gear upon movement of the transfer member from said first to said second position, and gears driving said rolls from said first-named gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 632,983 Barbier-Durozier Sept. 12, 1899 1,993,488 Schmidt et a1. Mar. 5, 1935 2,538,564 Jensen et a1. Jan. 16, 1951 

